Casimir
=Appearance= Casimir (KAZ-i-meer) is a youth of perhaps nineteen or twenty years of age. He stands an inch or so above six feet in height, his build well-muscled but tending more towards the lithe and athletic than bulk and power. In a civilised nation he would be considered unusually well built for someone of his age. But in his homeland of Cimmeria, where the constant struggle for survival strengthens muscle and sinew, he would be considered unremarkable. What he lacks in raw physical strength he makes up for in some measure by the pantherish grace and speed that with which he can move when necessary. His hair is dark, and kept short after the Hyborian fashion. Likewise, he is always clean-shaven. His features are regular and not unhandsome, and his clear blue eyes more of a glimmering of curiosity and intelligence than one might expect from a barbarian. His manner is reserved but watchful, preferring to observe a situation before committing himself, although in moments of sudden danger he lets himself be guided by his instincts as much as any barbarian. =Personality= In some ways, Casimir is atypical of a Cimmerian. The most obvious example of this is his intellectual curiosity. As a boy he could not look at a hill without wondering at the lands that might lie beyond it, whereas a normal Cimmerian would see only a hill. Since coming south into the Hyborian kingdoms and gaining a modicum of civilised learning he has added history to his interests, seeing it as one more unknown land to explore. This interest also extends into other forms of literature, such as poetry and the chivalric romances of the Zingaran bards, which are now gaining popularity in Hyboria. His passion for knowledge is not confined merely to the written word, and more than one scholar has been surprised to find himself engaged in well-reasoned debate by the young barbarian. In the almost five years that have passed since he left his homeland, Casimir has seen more of the world than most men see in a lifetime. As varied and broad as his travels have been, he has yet to become jaded by them. He has the same sense of wonder and pleasure at looking out over a strange land or seeing something new and exotic as he did when he first set foot outside of Cimmeria. His experiences have yet to make him hardened or cynical either. Although his manner is typically reserved and even shy, an essential gentleness of spirit coupled with the rough code of the Cimmerian barbarian means that he is normally willing to help others when asked (particularly if the other in question is a beautiful woman, a type to which he is especially susceptible). However, although he has acquired a taste for some of the trappings of civilisation that would appal his kinsmen, underneath he remains as much of a barbarian as they. Although he is able to mix both instinct and intellect, when responding to a sudden threat or crisis it is the instinct that prevails. =History= Casimir was born in south-eastern Cimmeria, the second child and eldest son of his family. At his mother's insistence he was named after his grandfather, her father, an outlander who had drifted up from the south and somehow won acceptance into the clan. Like his mother and and his elder sister, he shares his father's blue eyes eyes, a rarity amidst the brown that predominates among Clan Murrogh. As a child he was always a daydreamer. So much so that his father used to complain that he was likely to end his days walking off a cliff, not looking where he was going because his head was stuck in the clouds. The subject of his daydreams were typically the lands that lay outside the confining hills of Cimmeria and when he reached the age of manhood he set out to see some of those lands for himself. In the almost five years that have followed he has ranged all over the known world, travelling as far east as Shadizar and as far south as Stygia. With lands such as Vendhya, Khitai and the Black Kingdoms still unexplored, his desire for new horizons and knowledge remains undiminished. Although not a noted warrior amongst his own people, his skill coupled with his wilderness-bred strength and speed have been enough for him to support himself by the sword. Principally this has been in the role of caravan guard, a profession especially congenial to him as it combines payment with travel to a new destination. However, he has also worked as a more traditional mercenary and even engaged in what might be termed banditry in extremis.